As you can see from the picture at right, we’ve got our Christmas tree up, waiting to surprise SteelyKid when she comes home in a couple of hours. This also means it’s getting toward the time when I switch over to the holiday music playlist on iTunes.

Christmas music is, of course, a problematic genre. I spent half an hour in a toy store the other day, looking for stuff for SteelyKid, and the entire time that I was there, the only song that played was “The Christmas Song.” After six different versions of that, I was more than ready to roast somebody’s chestnuts.

So, it’s time for the annual request: recommend some Christmas songs that don’t suck. To give you an idea of my definition of “don’t suck,” I’ll put the four-and-five-star-rated songs from my good Christmas music playlist below the fold. I’m looking for more stuff in that general vein.

If you’ve got favorite Christmas songs that are similar to songs on the list below, leave them in the comments. The playlist we have now is about long enough to last for the drive to my parents’ for Christmas, but we could always use more.

(A few of these are not so much Christmas songs as general winter songs, and that’s fine, too. The goals to keep in mind are “Seasonally appropriate,” and “Not sucking.” Keep those two things in mind, Piglet, and you’ll do well.)

I personally like the Blenders and ‘3 Ships’ by Jon Anderson (of Yes). I prefer the Blenders earlier stuff (before they started using instruments). When I got 3 Ships, it was the pre-MP3 era, and I had to special order it because it was only available in Japan. :-)

Also, don’t forget that Bob Dylan now has a Christmas album, although listening to more than one or two songs from it in a row is only for diehard fans. However, you could chuck “Must be Santa” on the list.

For what it’s worth, if that’s the “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” from the ’65 cartoon, it’s not Karloff, it’s Thurl Ravenscroft (who also did the voice of Tony the Tiger, and had one of the best basso profundo voices EVER!).

I never get tired of “Merry Christmas, Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens (despite his name). It is a fluffy piece of almost nothing, but it has an fun, infectious rhythm that I just can’t resist.

For what it’s worth, if that’s the “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” from the ’65 cartoon, it’s not Karloff, it’s Thurl Ravenscroft (who also did the voice of Tony the Tiger, and had one of the best basso profundo voices EVER!).

I never get tired of “Merry Christmas, Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens (despite his name). It is a fluffy piece of almost nothing, but it has an fun, infectious rhythm that I just can’t resist.

We usually listen to The Santaland Diaries from David Sedaris’ “Holidays on Ice” in the car. Might be a little dark for the kids, though! I like The Roches’ version of Silver Bells from the “We Three Kings” album.

For what it’s worth, if that’s the “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” from the ’65 cartoon, it’s not Karloff, it’s Thurl Ravenscroft (who also did the voice of Tony the Tiger, and had one of the best basso profundo voices EVER!).

I know, I just keep forgetting to change it in iTunes. It was labelled as Karloff when I got it.

From Sweden I would nominate “Achtung Christmas”, a spoof on Kraftwerk by the group “Tyskarna Från Lund”. Very Kraftwerk-y, especially the video.
Also “Det Är Inte Snö Som Faller” (name of group forgotten).

“Party for Santa Claus” — Lord Nelson
(Hard to find, but there are some versions on youtube, if you want to decide if it is worth looking for)

“Come on! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance”
“Did I Make You Cry On Christmas? (Well, You Deserved It!)” –Sufjan Stevens
(There are a number of nice versions of classics on his “Songs for Christmas”, but the originals are what you really want off it. If you like his other stuff, that is.)

“Santa Lost a Ho” –Christmas Jug Band
(Super goofy, but I can’t resist…)

Anything off the Charlie Brown Christmas album. It’s Vince Guaraldi, and if SteelyKid has seen the show, she’ll probably recognize the songs. Then there’s the Melissa Etheridge Christmas album from last year, A New Thought for Christmas. There are a couple classics on there, but you should hear the guitar on O Night Divine, which is her take on O Holy Night, but with different words. It’s AMAZING.

The Rebel Jesus by Jackson Browne. Elvis Costello sings it on the album “The Bells of Dublin” by the Chieftains, which is an excellent Xmas album. Every track is great. Also beautiful to listen to are Loreena McKennitt’s Xmas albums “To Drive the Cold Winter Away,” “A Midwinter Night’s Dream” and the EP “A Winter Garden.”

I’ll second (or third, or whatever) the recommendation for Tim Minchin’s “White Wine in the Sun.” It’s sweet but has enough tart to keep from being cloying (which I guess is sort of like a white wine, but I don’t drink).

If the Target commercials haven’t driven you nuts this year, you can download the music from them. I’ve enjoyed the Blackalicious, Bishop Allen and Natalie Hemby tracks, at least. And I’ve been digging The Long Blondes’ “Christmas Is Cancelled,” Saturday Is Good to Me’s “This Time Every Year” and Julian Casablancas’ “I Wish It Was Christmas Today.”

(The last one is the stupid song that was on SNL for most of the Jimmy Fallon years. If it annoyed you then, you won’t like this version any better, but it’s surprisingly catchy.)

“The St. Stephen’s Day Murders” — either the original by Elvis Costello and the Chieftains, or the cover by Thea Gilmore (it’s on her Strange Communion album, all of which is seasonal and excellent). The folks at this Elvis Costello fan forum have dissected it in detail: http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1405

I am also fond of the Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight)”.

I’m taking the easy way out here, and ignoring whatever I could learn from your list and instead just listing my current favorite Christmas album:

“A Classical Guitar Christmas” by Charles Hammer.

Unaccompanied, instrumental acoustic guitar renditions of the mostly 19th century classic Christmas carols. I find it rather relaxing–it would fit in quite well, for example, in the post-opening-presents or post-huge-dinner daze.

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Holly Cole and Ed Robertson (of the Barenaked Ladies). If you aren’t a fan of the song, then don’t bother, but if you don’t mind it, this is a good version of it. Ed does a good job of capturing the male character’s longing.

“The First Noel” by the Crash Test Dummies (from the anthology album A Lump of Coal – there’s another version on their Jingle All the Way album that’s not as good). The harmonies and layers are fabulous, as is Ellen’s rich voice as the lead singer on two of the verses.

Books

You've read the blog, now try the books:

Eureka: Discovering Your Inner Scientist will be published in December 2014 by Basic Books. "This fun, diverse, and accessible look at how science works will convert even the biggest science phobe." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) "In writing that is welcoming but not overly bouncy, persuasive in a careful way but also enticing, Orzel reveals the “process of looking at the world, figuring out how things work, testing that knowledge, and sharing it with others.”...With an easy hand, Orzel ties together card games with communicating in the laboratory; playing sports and learning how to test and refine; the details of some hard science—Rutherford’s gold foil, Cavendish’s lamps and magnets—and entertaining stories that disclose the process that leads from observation to colorful narrative." --Kirkus ReviewsGoogle+

How to Teach Relativity to Your Dog is published by Basic Books. "“Unlike quantum physics, which remains bizarre even to experts, much of relativity makes sense. Thus, Einstein’s special relativity merely states that the laws of physics and the speed of light are identical for all observers in smooth motion. This sounds trivial but leads to weird if delightfully comprehensible phenomena, provided someone like Orzel delivers a clear explanation of why.” --Kirkus Reviews "Bravo to both man and dog." The New York Times.

How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is published by Scribner. "It's hard to imagine a better way for the mathematically and scientifically challenged, in particular, to grasp basic quantum physics." -- Booklist "Chad Orzel's How to Teach Physics to Your Dog is an absolutely delightful book on many axes: first, its subject matter, quantum physics, is arguably the most mind-bending scientific subject we have; second, the device of the book -- a quantum physicist, Orzel, explains quantum physics to Emmy, his cheeky German shepherd -- is a hoot, and has the singular advantage of making the mind-bending a little less traumatic when the going gets tough (quantum physics has a certain irreducible complexity that precludes an easy understanding of its implications); finally, third, it is extremely well-written, combining a scientist's rigor and accuracy with a natural raconteur's storytelling skill." -- BoingBoing